December 1998

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This article covers breaking news and events in December 1998.

Daily events

Tuesday December 1, 1998

• Irving / United States : The oil companies Exxon and Mobil Oil sign an agreement to merge the two companies.
• Tokyo / Japan : Real Madrid from Spain wins the game for the soccer world cup for club teams with 2: 1 against CR Vasco da Gama from Brazil .

Thursday 3rd December 1998

• Frankfurt am Main / Germany : A few weeks before the onset of the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union , with which the real exchange rate of the new currency euro are set to the currencies of eleven countries that reduce central banks of the eleven countries their key interest rates . Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer comments on the campaign as a “vote of confidence in the euro”. The European Central Bank will be responsible for the euro and the Bundesbank will lose its importance.

Friday 4th December 1998

• Vienna / Austria : The law on the return of works of art from the Austrian Federal Museums and Collections, or Art Restitution Act for short , comes into force. It regulates the handling of works that were confiscated or illegally sold during the National Socialist era .

Saturday 5th December 1998

• Fort Lauderdale / United States : The club DC United from the US capital Washington wins against CR Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with a 2-0 victory in the second leg, the last game of the Copa Interamericana in football .

Sunday December 6, 1998

Construction progress of the International Space Station

• Caracas / Venezuela : Hugo Chávez of the Movement for a Fifth Republic wins the presidential election with an anti-corruption and anti-poverty campaign that garnered him 56% of the vote. He promises the implementation of a Bolivarian Revolution as a necessary step on the way to socialism in the 21st century .
• Libreville / Gabon : Omar Bongo becomes president again after democratic elections . He came to power in 1967 and has been in office since then.
• Orbit : Astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavor of the space agency NASA connect the first two parts of the international space station on the STS-88 mission .

Monday December 7, 1998

• Berlin / Germany : The first meeting of the alliance for work, training and competitiveness initiated by the new Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ( SPD ) to reduce unemployment and to reform social security takes place. For the year 1998 the average number of unemployed is estimated at 4.28 million people.

Tuesday December 8, 1998

• Brussels / Belgium : The Foreign Minister of the United States , the NATO state party with the greatest military clout, Madeleine Albright, comments on the thoughts of the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on reducing nuclear weapons to the effect that they will examine the advantages and disadvantages considers nuclear weapons unnecessary.
• Chlef / Algeria : In the civil war , armed radical Islamist fighters kill 81 villagers in the area around the city of Tadjena and take 20 women prisoners.

Wednesday December 9, 1998

• Hamburg / Germany : The Wal-Mart retail chain is taking over 74 hypermarkets and Interspar's headquarters from Spar Handels-AG . In the United States , Wal-Mart has continued to face criticism for the way it treats its employees.

Thursday December 10, 1998

• New York / United States : Liechtenstein deposited its certificate of accession to the UN Pact II with the United Nations , on the same day South Africa deposited its ratification of the treaty. He guarantees u. a. the right to life and personal freedom. The interpretation of these rights is subject to the sovereignty of the individual states.
• Sofia / Bulgaria : The death penalty is removed from national law.

Friday December 11, 1998

• Surat Thani / Thailand : An aircraft of the type Airbus A310 of the airline Thai Airways collapsed during the landing approach about 4  km before the airport , and exploded. 101 inmates die, 45 can be saved.

Saturday December 12, 1998

• Houston / United States : With the live births of the so-called "Babies B, C, D, E, F, G, H", eightlings are demonstrably born for the first time in the history of medicine . The mother gave birth to “Baby A” on December 8th.
• Leipzig / Germany : At the federal delegate assembly of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , Gunda Röstel and Antje Radcke are elected equally as the party's federal board spokesmen . Radcke takes over from Jürgen Trittin in this role , while Röstel has been in office since 1996.
• Vienna / Austria : The two-day summit of the heads of state and government of the member states of the European Union (EU) may end. a. with a commitment to the principle of subsidiarity . In future, the institutions of the EU should leave the member states “the choice of form and means” when drafting EU directives .

Sunday December 13, 1998

• San Juan / Puerto Rico : For the second time in ten years, Puerto Rican voters are speaking out against the status of their country as a state of the United States , but also against the current status of a US territory , against state independence and against a free one Association with the USA. This part of the Greater Antilles thus remains a US territory.

Monday December 14, 1998

• Conakry / Guinea : In the presidential elections, President Lansana Conté was confirmed in office by the Party for Unity and Progress with 56.1% of the vote.
• Gaza Strip / Palestinian Territories : Bill Clinton is the first US President to visit the Palestinian Territories. Before the Palestinian National Council , he takes the view that the Palestine Liberation Organization should delete all passages from its national charter that deny the State of Israel the right to exist.

Tuesday December 15, 1998

• Algiers / Algeria : President Liamine Zéroual appoints the former General Secretary of the National Liberation Front party Smail Hamdani as Prime Minister . Yesterday, Hamdani's predecessor Ahmed Ouyahia resigned from the National Democratic Rally because of the difficult political situation and the economic crisis.

Wednesday December 16, 1998

A BGM-109 Tomahawk is fired on a guided missile destroyer towards Iraq

• Iraq : As part of the "Desert Fox" operation ( German  "Desert Fox" ) Start the United States and the United Kingdom with air strikes against Iraq. The attacks are aimed at reducing Iraq's ability to manufacture weapons of mass destruction .

Friday December 18, 1998

• Bern / Switzerland : The Federal Assembly adopts the new federal constitution for the Swiss Confederation . The electorate will decide on the adoption of the constitution in 1999 .
• Bonn / Germany : The Federal Council approves the introduction of the amendment to the tax legislation and approves the reform laws in the area of ​​pension, labor and health policy.

Saturday 19th December 1998

• Washington, DC / United States : A case of misconduct against US President Bill Clinton ( Democratic Party ) begins in the House of Representatives because of the Lewinsky affair . If Clinton is found to have committed serious misconduct in the course of this, he can be removed from office .

Sunday December 20, 1998

• Iraq : The air strikes of Operation "Desert Fox" ( German  "Wüstenfuchs" ) by the United States and the United Kingdom against around 100 targets in the country are coming to an end. The action followed the refusal of the dictatorial ruling President Saddam Hussein to have Iraqi arms production inspected by United Nations officials .
• Beijing / China : The regime critic Liu Nianchun is released prematurely from prison on the grounds that his state of health no longer allows for imprisonment. He arrives in New York , United States , the same day .

Monday December 21, 1998

• Jerusalem / Israel : Parliament decides to dissolve itself and hold new elections early in the first half of next year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the party merger failed previously in coalition talks with the Labor Party . The focus of the negotiations was the Wye Agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank .

Tuesday December 22, 1998

• Bonn / Germany : The Federal Minister for the Environment Jürgen Trittin ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ) repeals the statutes of the reactor safety and radiation protection commission . The committees should be recomposed when new statutes are drawn up and become effective.

Thursday December 24, 1998

Richard Holbrooke (center)

• Pristina / Yugoslavia : After increased assaults of both parties to the conflict in the war in Kosovo in Serbian or Kosovar civilians explaining armed fighters of the Kosovo Albanian KLA the ceasefire canceled. The peace efforts of the United States Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke are considered to have failed due to non-compliance with the ceasefire.

Friday December 25, 1998

• Pailin / Cambodia : Khieu Samphan , head of state from 1976 to 1979, and Nuon Chea , brother of the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot , write a message to the Cambodian government at their retreat on the border with Thailand , in which they agree to a legal agreement Prepare to come to terms with the genocide in Cambodia and other crimes during the country's socialist government.

Saturday December 26, 1998

• Tasman Sea / Australia : Six participants are killed in a storm during the Sydney-Hobart regatta . Five yachts have to be abandoned.

Tuesday December 29, 1998

• Phnom Penh / Cambodia : 72-year-old Nuon Chea and 67-year-old Khieu Samphan , two leaders of the Khmer Rouge , apologize to their compatriots for the genocide in Cambodia . Beginning in the 1970s, the leadership of the Khmer Rouge ordered the murder of 1.4 to 2.2 million people. Chea and Samphan are staying in Phnom Penh by invitation and are hoping for reprieve or mitigation .

Thursday December 31, 1998

• Frankfurt am Main / Germany : The exchange rates to the euro are set for the currencies of those countries that will introduce the European common currency as official book money after the changeover from the European currency unit ECU to the euro on January 1, 1999 . The so-called “ Eurozone ” will consist of eleven countries, including Germany and Austria . The European Union supports the gradual expansion of the zone in the coming years.
• North / Germany : After about 100 years of marine radio service for shipping in the waters off the German coast, the coast radio station Norddeich Radio ceases to operate at midnight. Before that, she handed over the call channels on ultra-short waves to the Bremen distress line .

See also

• Nekrolog December 1998 for deaths that month
• List of annually recurring commemorative and action days in December
• Category for commemorative days, holidays or days of action in December

Web links

Schleswig-Holstein in December 1998

Commons : December 1998  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Trans-Alaska pipeline divestiture required in Exxon Mobil merger. In: petroleumnews.com . November 30, 1999, accessed August 20, 2018 . 
2. ↑ World Cup, competitions 1960-2004. In: ifosta.de, Jörg Thomas. Retrieved May 8, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Bundesbank surprisingly cuts the most important key interest rate. In: tagesspiegel.de . December 3, 1998, accessed June 21, 2019 . 
4. ^ Federal law on the return of works of art from the Austrian federal museums and collections. In: ris.bka.gv.at . December 4, 1998, accessed September 18, 2016 . 
5. ↑ United beat Vasco Da Gama to win the Copa Interamericana. In: blackandredunited.com . December 5, 2013, accessed June 23, 2019 . 
6. ↑ tagesanzeiger.ch : "What I want, the people also want" ( Memento from March 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ reelection du président Omar Bongo. In: universalis.fr . Retrieved June 14, 2019 (French). 
8. ^ Omar Bongo, president of Gabon. In: britannica.com . Retrieved November 3, 2016 . 
9. ^ Endeavor Delivers Unity Node to International Space Station. In: nasa.gov . January 10, 2004, accessed July 16, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Report of the group of researchers in the Benchmarking Working Group on ways to improve employment opportunities for low-skilled workers. In: mpifg.de . November 1999, accessed February 11, 2018 . 
11. ^ The Rationale for 'No First Use'. In: armscontrol.org, Arms Control Association. Retrieved July 29, 2019 . 
12. ↑ 81 dead, 20 kidnapped in latest Algeria massacre. In: Kitsap Sun. 20, accessed on August 6, 2019 . 
13. ↑ US company Wal-Mart acquires the Interspar department stores. In: welt.de . December 9, 1998, accessed October 8, 2016 . 
14. ↑ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In: admin.ch . March 17, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017 . 
15. ^ History. In: uni-koblenz.de . Retrieved November 26, 2017 . 
16. ^ Thai Airways. In: focus.de . April 2014, accessed August 6, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Critical condition of eightlings. In: The world . December 23, 1998. Retrieved August 27, 2018 . 
18. ^ Federal assemblies Alliance 90 / The Greens. In: boell.de . August 8, 2008, accessed August 8, 2019 . 
19. ↑ Conclusions of the Presidency. In: europa.eu . 1999, accessed August 10, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Puerto Ricans say 'no' to statehood. In: cnn.com . December 14, 1998, accessed August 14, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Guinea. In: cnn.com . Retrieved August 7, 2019 . 
22. ^ Ahmad Qurai : Beyond Oslo, the Struggle for Palestine: Inside the Middle East Peace Process from Rabin's Death to Camp David . IB Tauris, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-84511-946-1 , pp. 25 .
23. ^ Algerian PM resigns. In: bbc.co.uk . December 14, 1998, accessed September 7, 2019 . 
24. ^ Phillip C. Naylor: Historical Dictionary of Algeria . 4th edition. Rowman & Littlefield , London 2015, ISBN 978-0-8108-7918-8 , pp. 287 .
25. ↑ Where are the Shooters? In: navy.mil . 20, accessed on October 15, 2019 . 
26. ^ Federal decision on a new federal constitution. In: admin.ch . 1999, accessed May 19, 2017 . 
27. ↑ 733th Session. In: bundesrat.de . December 18, 1998, accessed October 13, 2019 . 
28. ^ The Lewinsky Affair. In: srf.ch . December 18, 2008, accessed August 15, 2019 . 
29. ^ Results and Ramifications. In: inss.org.il, Institute for National Security Studies. June 1999, accessed October 2, 2019 . 
30. ↑ China releases one dissident, puts 3 more on trial. In: cnn.com . December 20, 1998, accessed October 1, 2019 . 
31. ↑ Chinese dissident Liu Ninchuan arrives in New York. In: aparchive.com . December 21, 1998, accessed October 1, 2019 . 
32. ^ Mitchell G. Bard: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict . Alpha Books, Indianapolis 1999, ISBN 0-02-863261-3 , pp. 397 .
33. ↑ History of origin. In: ssk.de . Retrieved August 21, 2019 . 
34. ↑ Tom Gallagher: The Balkans in the New Millennium: In the Shadow of War and Peace . Routledge Verlag , Abingdon-on-Thames 2005, ISBN 0-415-34940-0 , pp. 48 .
35. ↑ Cambodia's Tribunal Against Oblivion. In: nzz.ch . April 26, 2006, accessed August 6, 2019 . 
36. ^ The Tragic History of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. In: tripsavvy.com, InterActiveCorp . March 5, 2019, accessed June 10, 2019 . 
37. ↑ Khmer Rouge leader 'sorry' for genocide. In: bbc.co.uk . December 29, 1998, accessed August 6, 2019 . 
38. ↑ Irrevocable euro conversion rates. In: oenb.at . Retrieved August 24, 2019 . 
39. ^ The history of the coastal radio station Norddeich Radio. In: norddeichradio.info, Friedrich Zimmering. Retrieved September 10, 2019 .